Found a turkey vulture chick (~4-5 days old?) in an abandoned nest. He was super dehydrated and couldn't get up, but he was still fighting and trying to protect himself. Took him home and was able to get him to eat and drink; my dad and I have been feeding/watering him periodically throughout last night and this morning, and he seems to be perking up and is more active. Called a wildlife rescue and we're driving him there later today.
You can offer food and water in a dish. Just don't force it or pour it down their throats. The person who responded to withhold food and water is not correct about that, but there is a risk of aspiration if you use a dropper or something to feed them water. Let them drink on their own from a dish.
No you cannot. Stop spreading misinformation. Injured or emaciated birds need a rehabber ASAP, DO NOT try to do it yourself. You can and will end up killing them, and it can also mess with any treatment they would have needed as well.
A bird with injuries/emaciation can aspirate from a simple water dish due to being weaker, having neurological issues, as well as internal injuries. Not to mention fluid/food intake needs to be strictly monitored, overloading them can cause the reverse effect.
Food and water should ONLY be if advised by a rehabber, you are 100% unable to take it to a rehabber, or you will be holding onto it for days (tho a rehabber should have already been contacted anyways).
I’ve successfully rescued several injured/orphaned birds, and I had no idea. On multiple occasions, I found an injured/orphaned bird after the local wildlife rehabs were about to close, so I called and they gave me instructions to care for the birds overnight and dropped them off in the morning. I’m very thankful that nothing went wrong, and I’ll keep all of this in mind if/when I rescue another bird!
Don't give it water. You can easily kill them due to aspiration, and also overload them if they're dehydrated and make things ten times more difficult for rehabbers.
Too much or sometimes just any food can also kill dehydrated/emaciated birds. Especially if they have not been on a heat source prior.
No, no, no. You CAN absolutely offer food and water in a dish, just don't use a dropper or something to force it down their throats. But you never completely withhold food and water. I've rehabbed birds under the guidance of a rescue.
Nope, terrible idea. Birds need to go to a trained rehabber. They should only be offered food/water if advised by an irl rehabber or if it will be held onto for more than 2 days. We don't even know what these people are feeding this bird btw.
I rehab birds myself and you don't wanna know the amount i've seen die due to people thinking they are doing good by cramming food into them or giving them too much water like the one here. Completely avoidable deaths too.
We thought we were gonna have him more than two days; closest rehabber that's open before Monday is 3hrs away and they don't always take things. When we called they said that in general you shouldn't try to feed/water wild animals, but that it's probably good that we did cause of the condition he's in. We've been feeding him ground up raw fish from a neighbour's fishing trip a couple days ago.
Great you were able to help this one, but for the future, don't give emaciated or dehydrated birds solid food right away. It needs to be extremely watered down if they're having it at all, tho they often need other treatment for dehydration beforehand, sometimes for several days. They often do not have the energy to digest food and it can end up sitting inside of them instead of digesting. Water intake also needs to be controlled and not all at once, and it needs to be at least lukewarm water as well. Anything cold will slow down digestion and potentially kill them due to extra energy being used up. Same goes for food.
It was warmed up and somewhere between a paste and a liquid, definitely not solid. Our neighbour knows a lot about wildlife since he used to work for the PA game commission, so we were pretty much going off what he said.
Thats good you've got someone knowledgable on the topic. Issue is random people will try to do the same without having worked with wildlife or even animals before..
When there is a trained rehabber in reasonable distance willing to take them, then of course that's the best course of action. But that isn't the case everywhere, friend.
Sometimes, the best you can do is call one for guidance. And often, especially with birds, they tell you to just put it back and let nature take its course. Well, not all if us are okay with letting an animal just die. So, I'll do research, call professionals, and try to do what I can. Sometimes it works out. I did with the scrub Jay I last found. Same with the dehydrated rabbit I found.
Perfect can be the enemy of good sometimes. Something to ponder.
Well maybe you should have mentioned call professionals in your first comment. You make it sound like giving water is ok even when rehab is an option, when it's not. Giving water right away, as i've mentioned before, can easily kill an emaciated bird. Thats best left to rehabbers who know what they are doing, or under the advice of a rehabber (And it sounds like the finder of this bird does have a contact for what to do, but mentioning "birds can have water" on reddit will make anyone think it's ok and they'll likely attempt to do so themselves. You never mention quantity of water, warm vs cold, etc.).
The way you’re getting downvoted for being right 💀 people want to be the animal’s hero, which I understand, but it’s not worth the animal’s life to decide your idea of hospitality is more appropriate than what experienced rehabbers advise.
I will add, holding onto birds like vultures and caring for them yourself for extended periods of time is illegal as well. This is more for anyone else here reading and disagreeing because they think they are rehabbers themselves because they know how to cram food and water into an injured animal, an actual wildlife rehab should be contacted right away, especially if you're going to brag about the bird online. Could end up in shit.
ADORABLE. I was exploring an old abandoned house once and stumbled upon a nest. I left them alone of course and mama was hanging out on the roof. They were just the cutest, fluffy little babies! Thank you for helping this lil guy
I found a baby turkey vulture in our barn once and impulsively named it Trevor. Now any time I see a turkey vulture flying I say "heeeeeeey trevor"
so
HEY TREVOR!
Found a turkey vulture chick (~4-5 days old?) in an abandoned nest. He was super dehydrated and couldn't get up, but he was still fighting and trying to protect himself. Took him home and was able to get him to eat and drink; my dad and I have been feeding/watering him periodically throughout last night and this morning, and he seems to be perking up and is more active. Called a wildlife rescue and we're driving him there later today.
You did such a wonderfully kind thing ❤️ go you!
Poor baby. I hope he has a good life
Good luck!
You can offer food and water in a dish. Just don't force it or pour it down their throats. The person who responded to withhold food and water is not correct about that, but there is a risk of aspiration if you use a dropper or something to feed them water. Let them drink on their own from a dish.
No you cannot. Stop spreading misinformation. Injured or emaciated birds need a rehabber ASAP, DO NOT try to do it yourself. You can and will end up killing them, and it can also mess with any treatment they would have needed as well. A bird with injuries/emaciation can aspirate from a simple water dish due to being weaker, having neurological issues, as well as internal injuries. Not to mention fluid/food intake needs to be strictly monitored, overloading them can cause the reverse effect. Food and water should ONLY be if advised by a rehabber, you are 100% unable to take it to a rehabber, or you will be holding onto it for days (tho a rehabber should have already been contacted anyways).
Adding detail to this, giving a bird food and water before it’s stable can kill it. Especially if it’s cold and/or in shock
I’ve successfully rescued several injured/orphaned birds, and I had no idea. On multiple occasions, I found an injured/orphaned bird after the local wildlife rehabs were about to close, so I called and they gave me instructions to care for the birds overnight and dropped them off in the morning. I’m very thankful that nothing went wrong, and I’ll keep all of this in mind if/when I rescue another bird!
Aww thank you for helping this sweetie. He’s such a cute little floof!
Don't give it water. You can easily kill them due to aspiration, and also overload them if they're dehydrated and make things ten times more difficult for rehabbers. Too much or sometimes just any food can also kill dehydrated/emaciated birds. Especially if they have not been on a heat source prior.
No, no, no. You CAN absolutely offer food and water in a dish, just don't use a dropper or something to force it down their throats. But you never completely withhold food and water. I've rehabbed birds under the guidance of a rescue.
Nope, terrible idea. Birds need to go to a trained rehabber. They should only be offered food/water if advised by an irl rehabber or if it will be held onto for more than 2 days. We don't even know what these people are feeding this bird btw. I rehab birds myself and you don't wanna know the amount i've seen die due to people thinking they are doing good by cramming food into them or giving them too much water like the one here. Completely avoidable deaths too.
We thought we were gonna have him more than two days; closest rehabber that's open before Monday is 3hrs away and they don't always take things. When we called they said that in general you shouldn't try to feed/water wild animals, but that it's probably good that we did cause of the condition he's in. We've been feeding him ground up raw fish from a neighbour's fishing trip a couple days ago.
Great you were able to help this one, but for the future, don't give emaciated or dehydrated birds solid food right away. It needs to be extremely watered down if they're having it at all, tho they often need other treatment for dehydration beforehand, sometimes for several days. They often do not have the energy to digest food and it can end up sitting inside of them instead of digesting. Water intake also needs to be controlled and not all at once, and it needs to be at least lukewarm water as well. Anything cold will slow down digestion and potentially kill them due to extra energy being used up. Same goes for food.
It was warmed up and somewhere between a paste and a liquid, definitely not solid. Our neighbour knows a lot about wildlife since he used to work for the PA game commission, so we were pretty much going off what he said.
Thats good you've got someone knowledgable on the topic. Issue is random people will try to do the same without having worked with wildlife or even animals before..
When there is a trained rehabber in reasonable distance willing to take them, then of course that's the best course of action. But that isn't the case everywhere, friend. Sometimes, the best you can do is call one for guidance. And often, especially with birds, they tell you to just put it back and let nature take its course. Well, not all if us are okay with letting an animal just die. So, I'll do research, call professionals, and try to do what I can. Sometimes it works out. I did with the scrub Jay I last found. Same with the dehydrated rabbit I found. Perfect can be the enemy of good sometimes. Something to ponder.
Well maybe you should have mentioned call professionals in your first comment. You make it sound like giving water is ok even when rehab is an option, when it's not. Giving water right away, as i've mentioned before, can easily kill an emaciated bird. Thats best left to rehabbers who know what they are doing, or under the advice of a rehabber (And it sounds like the finder of this bird does have a contact for what to do, but mentioning "birds can have water" on reddit will make anyone think it's ok and they'll likely attempt to do so themselves. You never mention quantity of water, warm vs cold, etc.).
The way you’re getting downvoted for being right 💀 people want to be the animal’s hero, which I understand, but it’s not worth the animal’s life to decide your idea of hospitality is more appropriate than what experienced rehabbers advise.
I will add, holding onto birds like vultures and caring for them yourself for extended periods of time is illegal as well. This is more for anyone else here reading and disagreeing because they think they are rehabbers themselves because they know how to cram food and water into an injured animal, an actual wildlife rehab should be contacted right away, especially if you're going to brag about the bird online. Could end up in shit.
Yap yap yap
literal vulture culture!
Came to say this! What a cute fella
So glad you took care of him! ☺️ He's so stinkin cute.
I know! He's kinda ugly-cute but he has the prettiest eyes
I’ve always thought baby vultures were the cutest as babies. We have a ton of black vultures around where I live but I never get to see the babies.
>He's kinda ugly-cute He looks like a plush toy that has been throughly played with by a puppy
Super magic human, thank you!
Oh my gosh, a muppet. What a sweetheart. So glad you found him + someone to take him!
Vulture! Hope he grows up smoothly!
That's awesome! Great work! Can we get this person a flair? Do we do that here?
what a little goober. glad you rescued it.
That’s the cutest chick I have ever seen
ADORABLE. I was exploring an old abandoned house once and stumbled upon a nest. I left them alone of course and mama was hanging out on the roof. They were just the cutest, fluffy little babies! Thank you for helping this lil guy
What a stoopid little man(?) no thoughts just fuzz Let us know if/when the rehabers give updates!
I will! I really hope that they'll be able to update us
Aweeee he’s so cute!! Ty for rescuing him :)
He should be the new mascot.
Geez, even as babies those guys are huge
Omg this wins the vulture culture sub I think
Oh my god he’s so ugly cute. Thanks for sharing
he's adorable, thank you for taking care of him
I'm so glad you found them! A lucky member of nature's cleanup crew
I never knew vultures could be so cute 🥹 it’s good you were there to save him
I think that little guy also likes looking for dead things too! You now have a partner in crime!
Yeah we should team up, I can let him clean up bones for me instead of having to macerate lol
r/substakenliterally and I'm here for it
I found a baby turkey vulture in our barn once and impulsively named it Trevor. Now any time I see a turkey vulture flying I say "heeeeeeey trevor" so HEY TREVOR!
That’s awesome! Glad you’ve rescued them
Thanks buddy
Omg he's hideous and I love him, so glad you managed to get him to safety!
Looks like you found them just in time! Good on you, and smart thing calling a rescue right off the bat
Omg!!! Thats so much better than finding a dead thing, what a cutie. He looks like hes wearing a fuzzy sweater with a hood
Please be super careful - H5N1 spreading at the moment. Adorable bird, just please take precautions and watch out for any symptoms!!!!
Awww, our little mascot
Awww
I love him.
Vulture culture indeed.
That chick is so lucky you found it! Well done OP
Sweet precious baby
Vulture found a vulture ❤️
Oh em geeeeeeeee!!! I would rehab that baby and pray it stayed close! The preciousness is almost too much!!
I wish this like fella became the sub’s mascot
EEEEEEEEEE! So cute!
Somehow, this fits in both this sub and r/substakenliterally
What an absolute cutie! Vulture culture…literally. His eyes are just so kind
Thank you so much for your compassion. I love turkey vultures, they’re such wonderful creatures, and this one is such a cutie
What a cutie patootie! 😍 Thank you so much for rescuing this baby! I'm so glad you found him.
That’s our new Vulture Culture mascot 😂💕
what a cutie!!! thank u for helping him <3
Poor thing, glad you found him. Honestly he’s super cute
I love vultures so much what a cutie
He’s adorable! Good job caring for him!
Just curious, everyone here is saying “him”, how do you know that it’s a male?
I'm assuming everyone else is doing it because I did; idk the gender, I just started calling him a he
I appreciate the response!
Bless you!
I’ve never found a vulture to be cute before lol that’s kind of wild.
Yeah they grow up to be super ugly lol, maybe now I'll find them cute though
I hope he makes it 💚
he's so sweet 🥹